False Report of Shots Fired at Walter Reed Makes Two False Reports in a Week

On July 6, Walter Reed Army Medical Center was placed on lockdown after a report that a shot was fired. Hours later, that report proved false and lockdown was lifted.

This is the second false report of shots fired within a week. The first instance was at DC Navy Yard on July 2, where reports of shots fired resulted in the US Navy tweeting a “lockdown/shelter in place” announcement for those within the facility.

Fox News reported the facility was then “largely emptied… as civilian and military law enforcement officers swept through.” But hours later, with no evidence that shots had been fired, an “all clear” was issued for the Navy Yard.

A similar pattern took place on July 6 with Walter Reed, with NBC Washington reporting an “exhaustive” search conducted “floor to floor” and “office to office” turned up no evidence a shot had been fired.

The incident at Walter Reed “began at about 10:48 a.m., when a 911 caller reported hearing an apparent gunshot inside Building 1, the original hospital on the campus in Bethesda.” Employees and patients were [then] told to shelter in place” via a “text alert.”